By Sitaraman Shankar
LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - European shares rose in early
trade on Friday, snapping a three-day losing run, as oil stocks
benefited from crude topping $110 a barrel while telecoms rose
on consolidation talk.
At 0810 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was 0.6 percent higher at 1,310.94 points.
Index heavyweight oil stocks led the way, with BP <BP.L> up
1.2 percent, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> ahead 1.1 percent and
Total <TOTF.PA> up 0.6 percent.
Banks were mixed, with UBS <UBSN.VX> down 0.5 percent, Royal
Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> down 0.4 percent and Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA> up 0.5 percent.
The sector has been the worst hit by a credit crunch
stemming from a collapse in the market for subprime, or risky,
U.S. mortgages.
But, after five successive months of losses, the DJ Stoxx
European banking index <.SX7P> has risen in April on hopes the
worst may be out of the way.
"The flow of bad news from the financial sector has calmed
down and we have seen no big banking sector failure," said
Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, strategist with Deutsche Postbank in
Bonn.
"We expect shaky markets and volatility in the short term,
when investors should be buying on the dips, but we are positive
for the economic outlook in the eurozone and the U.S. should
improve in the second half as the Fed's actions take effect."
The Federal Reserve has cut U.S. interest rates by 200 basis
points this year and orchestrated a rescue of Bear Stearns
<BSC.N>.
Telecom Italia <TLIT.MI> jumped 3.8 percent to drive the
sector higher after media reports the Fossati family, which owns
4.45 percent, want it to merge with Spain's Telefonica <TEF.MC>
in a few years.
Telecom Italia was not immediately available for comment.
France Telecom <FTE.PA> rose 2.5 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE <> rose 0.7 percent,
Germany's DAX <> rose 0.8 percent and France's CAC <>
gained 0.9 percent.
Strong results from U.S. agrochemicals group DuPont <DD.N>
lifted chemical companies. Switzerland's Syngenta <SYNN.VX> rose
3.6 percent and Germany's Bayer <BAYG.DE> added 1 percent.
French aero engine and telecoms equipment maker Safran
<SAF.PA> rose nearly 3 percent after posting flat sales for the
first quarter, while confectioner Cadbury Schweppes <CBRY.L>
fell 1.8 percent after traders expressed disappointment at the
2008 outlook.
French telecoms and construction group Bouygues <BOUY.PA>
gained 3.7 percent on a Morgan Stanley upgrade.
With the earnings season gathering steam in the United
States, investors will be focusing on results from General
Electric <GE.N> later in the session.
(Reporting by Sitaraman Shankar; editing by David Hulmes)
